Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
"Pigs in Heaven," published in 1988 by Barbara Kingsolver, is a sequel to her earlier novel "The Bean Trees." The story follows Taylor Greer and her adoptive daughter, Turtle, as they navigate the complexities of family, identity, and belonging. The plot is ignited by a fateful event during a trip to the Hoover Dam, where Turtle witnesses a young man, Lucky Buster, fall into a spillway. Her act of witnessing leads to his rescue and thrusts them into the public eye, culminating in an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
However, this newfound attention also brings challenges, especially when Annawake Fourkiller, a young Cherokee attorney, sees their story and seeks to reclaim Turtle for the Cherokee Nation. This conflict raises profound questions about cultural identity and the nature of motherhood, as Taylor grapples with the possibility of losing her daughter to her indigenous roots. Alongside Taylor's journey, her mother, Alice, also embarks on a quest to understand her heritage, demonstrating the novel's exploration of intergenerational ties and community.
Through its rich themes of identity, self-discovery, and the intricacies of relationships, "Pigs in Heaven" offers a poignant reflection on the importance of connection to both family and culture, earning recognition and awards for its insightful and humorous narrative.
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Subject Terms
Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
First published: 1993
The Work
Tracing the lives of Taylor and Turtle Greer, protagonists of Barbara Kingsolver’s earlier novel The Bean Trees (1988), Pigs in Heaven leads a reader to reconsider the meaning of family, community, motherhood, and belonging. On an Easter vacation trip with Taylor, her adoptive mother, six-year-old Turtle sees a young man, Lucky Buster, fall into a spillway at the Hoover Dam; her seeing him leads to his rescue and her own celebrity. Turtle and Taylor appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show with other children who have saved lives. Rescuing Lucky Buster, however, leads to discovery and change for Turtle and Taylor because a young Cherokee attorney, Annawake Fourkiller, sees Turtle and hears her adoption story on television.
The ensuing struggle between Annawake and Taylor drives the plot and underlies the theme of identity through relationship. Taylor fears losing Turtle to the Cherokee Nation and flees with her daughter. Taylor’s mother, Alice, leaves her husband, Harland, because she wants more than a dead marriage and flies to Las Vegas to help Taylor and Turtle. After giving Taylor her savings, Alice travels to the town of Heaven on Cherokee Nation land to stay with her cousin and investigate her rights with the tribe of her grandmother. Her time on the Cherokee land does not lessen her commitment to her daughter and granddaughter, but does help her understand Annawake’s quest.
Taylor loses much of her self-confidence as she works to support herself and Turtle, never having enough money to pay all the bills or to eat very well. Taylor’s eventual decision to take Turtle to the Cherokee Nation to talk to Annawake reminds her of Dorothy’s being taken to the castle of the witch in Oz. Her decision, however, results from her realization that Turtle needs more than Taylor alone.
Annawake Fourkiller represents identity through tribal relationships, a community identity. As a twin, her early sense of self hinged on the presence of her brother Gabe. His adoption out of the Cherokee Nation left Annawake personally bereft and led her to continue a crusade to keep Cherokee children within the tribe’s jurisdiction.
Images of darkness and burial recur. Lucky Buster’s fall into the spillway hole and isolation in the darkness parallel Turtle’s self isolation, climbing into a bathtub and pulling a blanket over her head. Turtle’s descent into stasis and dark follows her perception of fear and threat. Despite Taylor’s best efforts, she cannot bring Turtle into the light, into wholeness, by herself.
In 1993, the novel won the Los Angeles Times Fiction Prize, the Mountains and Plains Fiction Award, and the Western Heritage Award. Pigs in Heaven merits honors in American fiction for its honesty and humor in exploring motherhood, self, and community.
Bibliography
Berkinow, Louise. “Books.” Cosmopolitan 214 (June, 1993): 32. Berkinow praises the novel for its “breathtaking” story and racial themes. Among its many “unforgettable” characters, she particularly admires Alice for her “country-plain, no-nonsense sensibility.” Overall, Berkinow finds the novel “profound, funny, bighearted.”
Karbo, Karen. “And Baby Makes Two.” The New York Times Book Review, June 27, 1993, p. 9. Karbo praises Kingsolver’s ability to “maintain her political views without sacrificing the complexity of her characters’ predicaments.” On the other hand, she faults the author for not pursuing the issue of responsibility for Turtle’s abuse.
Kingsolver, Barbara. Interview by Robin Epstein. Progressive 60 (February, 1996): 33-37. Kingsolver talks about how her feminist philosophy, childhood experience of being an outsider, and political activism have shaped her writing. Although she only briefly discusses Pigs in Heaven, the interview offers a good overall picture of Kingsolver’s work.
Koenig, Rhoda. “Books.” New York 26 (June 14, 1993): 99-100. Koenig praises Kingsolver’s “lovely eye (and nose) for details” and judges her to be “a nice, well-meaning woman.” Koenig, though, criticizes the novel for its “dopey benignity.” According to Koenig, by making her major characters so well-meaning and good, Kingsolver eliminates her chances for suspense and for meaningful treatment of serious issues.
Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. “Community vs. Family and Writer vs. Subject.” The New York Times, July 12, 1993, p. C16. Lehmann-Haupt praises the novel for its “appealing homespun poetry” and “down-home humor.” He also admires the “generosity and spiritedness” of its characters. On the other hand, he comments that “there isn’t much conflict or tension in the story” and that “the reader begins to suffocate in all the sweetness.”
Ryan, Maureen. “Barbara Kingsolver’s Lowfat Fiction.” Journal of American Culture 18 (Winter, 1995): 77-82. Ryan explores common themes in Kingsolver’s novels.
Shapiro, Laura. “A Novel Full of Miracles.” Newsweek 123 (July 12, 1993): 61. Shapiro praises Kingsolver for avoiding polemics and creating “a complex drama.” On the other hand, she remarks that the novel is “less deftly plotted” than Kingsolver’s earlier fiction because its resolution “relies on a somewhat unwieldy coincidence.” Overall, however, Shapiro concludes that the novel “succeeds on the strength of Kingsolver’s clear-eyed, warmhearted writing and irresistible characters.”